A performance-based State Universities of Iran: a qualitative study of requirements and ‎barriers of performance-based funding According to principal-agent theory

In Iran, Higher education policymakers, want universities to be accountable for their funding ‎and ‎spend it on activities and actions that bring the most social achievement. Therefore, in recent ‎years, ‎public higher education in Iran has shifted from budgeting based on input indicators ‎to ‎performance-based funding‏.‏‎ This model, which has become widespread in the world in the ‎last ‎decade, has requirements and presuppositions and may face obstacles in its implementation‏;‏‎ ‎So ‎the main issue of this study is to identify and explain performance-based requirements ‎and ‎obstacles at the Iranian state University to principal-agent theory‏.‏‎ A qualitative approach ‎based ‎on grounded theory was used‏.‏‎ Participants were selected based on the network method ‎‎(snowball) ‎from two networks of senior policymakers and operators‏.‏‎ Among the internal policymakers, semi-‎structured individuals have been conducted with10 managers of universities, the ‎Ministry of ‎Science, Research and Technology (ATF). Also among the effective external policymakers, Depth ‎interviews were conducted with 9 cases from the Ministry of Economic Affairs ‎and Finance and ‎the Management and Planning Organization, financial managers and faculty ‎members specializing ‎in budgeting. the constant presence of the researcher in the field of activity ‎continued until the ‎theoretical saturation‏.‏‎ Data from interviews were analyzed with qualitative content ‎analysis and ‎coding method of Strauss and Corbin (2006) and validity of researchers findings ‎compared by the ‎expert‏.‏‎ The results showed that to implement the performance-based ‎approach, the government and ‎the university must provide requirements at three levels: macro levels ‎‎(government), micro level ‎‎(university), and inter-organizational level(government-university interaction) ‎and remove ‎obstacles‏.‏‎ The most important requirements at the government level were the ‎expansion of the ‎authority and freedom of universities and the involvement of senior managers ‎and elites of public ‎universities in the design and implementation phase of this model. The most ‎important obstacle for ‎the government was the intervention of political parties and interest ‎groups‏.‏‎ At the university level, ‎the most important requirements included the formulation of ‎strategic planning and prioritizing and ‎welcoming the university to reform its organizational, ‎educational, research, and service processes‏.‏‎ ‎The most important obstacle in the university was the ‎resistance of the directors and members of ‎the faculty and the unpreparedness of the university ‎to implement the plan‏.‏‎ At the inter-‎organizational level, the government and the university must, ‎through effective participation and ‎interaction, provide requirements such as the agreement between ‎the government and the university ‎on performance indicators and monitoring and evaluation of ‎the performance indicators‏.‏‎ Also at ‎this level, the most important obstacle was the unbalanced ‎and distrustful relationship between the ‎university and the government‏.‏